Polling ended in all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on April 19 in the first phase of the 2024 general elections as the BJP’s ambition to emerge as a force challenging Dravidian parties in the State was tested. The BJP drew a blank in 2019.
A tale of three fronts in Tamil NaduIn 2019, the DMK-led alliance won 39 of the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Nearly 6.23 crore electors in Tamil Nadu will cast their votes, with 950 candidates in the fray.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the State multiple times during election campaigns, as the BJP sought a foothold in the State. However, the leading contenders are still the Dravidian majors, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam( AIADMK).
Election-bound Tamil Nadu among top States in many socio-economic measures: DataThe BJP, which has allied with a few smaller parties, has sought to upend the State’s conventional politics, which has so far been indifferent to Hindutva politics, by taking the ruling DMK head-on for its alleged insult of Sanatan Dharma besides involvement in corruption. The Prime Minister visited many temples in the run-up to the elections, especially in the days ahead of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in January.
Battle for Dravidian homeland | InfographicsChief Minister M.K. Stalin has dismissed all the buzz around the BJP as propaganda, while terming the fight against the national party as a battle for democracy’s survival in the country.
Around 10.24 lakh voters in Puducherry will choose their nominee for the lone seat from 26 contestants. All four leading contestants advocated for Statehood for the Union Territory in their campaigns.
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